Page 509 - Top MMA News and Mixed Martial Arts Headlines

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Jon Jones hasn't been keen on a rematch with Lyoto Machida, but that's the fight he's going to get.
With Dan Henderson (29-8 MMA, 6-2 UFC) suddenly out with a MCL injury, leading to the cancelation of next week's UFC 151 in Las Vegas, Jones (16-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) now will fight Lyoto Machida (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) for the UFC light heavyweight title as the main event at next month's show in Toronto.
UFC President Dana White on Thursday confirmed the news on a media conference call. The previous headliner for UFC 152 in Toronto, a flyweight title fight between Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson, will serve as the co-main event.

Jordan Breen ?@jordanbreen
Dan Henderson has suffered a partial MCL tear, couldn't keep training through it. UFC 151 has been canceled. Sign o' the times, big time.
Jeremy Botter ?@jeremybotter
Dana says this is one of his all-time lows. They are canceling UFC 151.
A partial tear to the medial collateral ligament in Dan Henderson's right knee forced the cancelation Thursday of the entire UFC 151 card, which was slated for Sept. 1 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
UFC president Dana White said light heavyweight champion Jon Jones declined to fight Chael Sonnen, whom he proposed as a replacement for Henderson. That would have kept the show alive, but White said when Jones wouldn't agree to meet Sonnen, he had no choice but to cancel the show.
"I'm stunned," White told Yahoo! Sports Thursday. "We've never had a situation where this happened before, where a champion wouldn't step up to fight."

Much is made of the transition for those elite collegiate and Olympic wrestlers who wish to try mixed martial arts as a post-wrestling career option. On the heels of the 2012 London Olympic Games - which saw Americans Jordan Burroughs and Jake Varner bring home gold medals in freestyle competition - the question about who is next to move from the amateur wrestling ranks to the professional MMA divisions is hotter than ever.
For one Greco-Roman Olympic champion, however, the move wasn't as easy or fun as he thought it would be.

UFC president Dana White will make an announcement regarding next week's UFC 151 event today at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT).
Although officials didn't detail what will be revealed, the media call comes less than a day after rumors surfaced that headliner and title challenger Dan Henderson may be injured and unable to fight.
You can listen to the media call live on MMAjunkie.com Radio at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

@benfowlkesMMA
And there's the email about a forthcoming announcement from Dana White regarding UFC 151. Shit just got real.
@bokamotoESPN
Dana White to make announcement on 151 today during media call at 2 ET.
@DamonMartin
Dana White to make special announcement about UFC 151 today at 2pm ET. Stay tuned folks! #UFC
@arielhelwani
UFC just announced that @danawhite will hold a conference call at 2 pm ET regarding the fate of UFC 151. Stay tuned.
@mattlindland
Guess who is replacement? RT @arielhelwani: UFC just announced that @danawhite will hold a conference call at 2 pm ET regarding fate UFC 151

Ladies Love Cool James. Home invaders? Not so much.
Just like the slack-jawed yokels who kicked down the door of a mixed martial arts (MMA) gym in San Antonio -- only to find it populated with a bunch of cage fighters -- a would-be burglar got more than he bargained for after stumbling upon the longtime rapper in his home on Wednesday (Aug. 22, 2012).

Resurrection Fighting Alliance's next event now has a venue and headliners.
RFA 4 is set for Nov. 2 at Texas Station's Dallas Event Center in Las Vegas, the promotion announced on Wednesday. The event airs live on Fight Now TV.
Headlining the event is a light-heavyweight clash between former UFC fighters Gilbert Yvel (38-16-1) and Marcio "Pe de Pano" Cruz (7-3). A lightweight fight between Tyson Griffin (15-6) and "The Ultimate Fighter 8" winner Efrain Escudero (18-5) co-headlines.
Following a three-fight skid that prompted his exit from the UFC, Yvel earned back-to-back stoppage victories under the RFA banner. Most recently, he delivered a first-round knockout of fellow octagon vet Houston Alexander at RFA 2.
Cruz, a decorated submission grappler, hasn't competed since July 2011, when current UFC prospect Glover Teixeira scored a TKO victory over him at an event in Brazil. The loss snapped a five-fight win streak that followed his exit from the UFC, which came with back-to-back losses to Jeff Monson and Andrei Arlovski.
For the record the Yvel/Cruz fights at 205 - love that matchup!

The UFC is still awaiting the official word from Georges St-Pierre that he will be ready to go for UFC 154 in Montreal, but the card now officially has its co-main event.
As expected, welterweights Johny Hendricks and Martin Kampmann will square off in the co-featured bout on the upcoming card headed to Montreal on Nov. 17.
UFC officials made the announcement via UFC Tonight on Tuesday.
Both competitors will look to make a statement as the co-main event with the expected feature bout pitting welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre against Carlos Condit.
Johny Hendricks has been on a tear as of late, picking up wins over Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck, while Kampmann has looked impressive as well with finishes over Thiago Alves and Jake Ellenberger.
Now the two welterweight contenders will fight with a potential title shot awaiting the winner.
For more news and rumors about UFC 154 check out MMAWeekly.com's Rumors Page

Translated from Portuguese...
Spider: 'I'm in a comfort zone. I can afford to say no '
Anderson Silva has received much criticism for refusing to face the American Chris Weidman, a leading candidate today to compete in the middleweight belt. During the launch of the second edition of his biography "The story of a champion in the ring and in life", in Sao Paulo, the Brazilian was justified in saying that it is a position that gives him the right to deny any fight and confirmed that only around in 2013. For him, Weidman still need to do more fighting and would be much more interesting to look at the Canadian Georges St-Pierre, the welterweight champion.
"Yes I got (the invitation to address Weidman), but I have other projects for the coming months and do not intend to fight back now. There is lack of humility on my part. I'm in a comfort zone, I can afford to not speak. The Weidman is a boy, has his talent and is building a story in the UFC. At no point did I put myself against the possibility of fighting him. But I think a fight against Georges St-Pierre would be much better, because he is a great champion and the fight would have much more content to people. The Weidman has a long career ahead of him still. I have my story, and would be much more advantageous for my fans and for fans of GSP if we we faced." - told SPORTV.COM .

UFC on Fox 5 has added a new fight in the lightweight division as former Ultimate Fighter competitors Joe Proctor and Ramsey Nijem have agreed to meet at the Dec. 8 show in Seattle.
UFC officials announced the new bout on Wednesday.
A student of UFC lightweight Joe Lauzon, Joe Proctor was one of the favorites to make it all the way to the finals of last year's Ultimate Fighter Live season. Proctor fell short, but made the most of his opportunity when he did get to the UFC during the season's live finale show. He put away former housemate Jeremy Larsen by TKO in the first round.

The top middleweight contender is awaiting word on a possible showdown with UFC champion Anderson Silva, who doesn't seem all that interested in the fight.
But after turning down other matchups, including one with Vitor Belfort (21-9 MMA, 10-5 UFC), Weidman (9-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) said it's time for the champ to give him the type of opportunity that Silva (32-4 MMA, 15-0 UFC) also got early in his career.
Weidman is 5-0 since joining the UFC and 9-0 since turning pro in early 2009. Most recently, he made short work of fellow contender Mark Munoz and posted a vicious first-round knockout in the headliner of UFC on FUEL TV 4 this past month.
"Just give me a chance, man," Weidman said on Tuesday's "UFC Tonight" on Fuel TV. "Obviously, I believe I'm going to beat you, so it's a tough one for me to try to tell you to do. But you had one fight when you got the chance, and you were able to make the best of it.
"I didn't take a couple fights right after (the Munoz fight). Guys were challenging me like Belfort, and I didn't take them because the UFC didn't want me to take them too. They wanted me to wait for the Anderson Silva fight. But now it's up in the air. I don't know what's going on."

Tom DeBlass (7-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) is dropping a weight class and has agreed to meet middleweight Riki Fukuda (18-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at UFC on FUEL TV 6 in November.
theScore.com first brought word of the matchup, though UFC officials have made no formal announcement.
UFC on FUEL TV 6 takes place Nov. 10 at Cotai Arena in Venetian Macau Resort Hotel. Macau is a special administrative region of China.

The UFC is officially headed back to the Pacific Northwest.
UFC on Fox 5 will land at the Key Arena in Seattle for the upcoming Dec. 8 card featuring a lightweight title fight between Benson Henderson and Nate Diaz.
The announcement was made via UFC Tonight on Tuesday.

Harrison has become part of the Dominance MMA family, led by former Olympic judoka Ali Abdel-Aziz, where she joins former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, Rolles Gracie and family and team leader Renzo Gracie. Abdel-Aziz will manage Harrison along with her Judo coach and longtime friend Jimmy Pedro.
The plan for now is for Harrison to focus on her training for the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro, but she will start working on her Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game by training at Renzo Gracie‘s academy in New York City.
In an interview with MMAWeekly.com content partner Bleacher Report in July, Harrison discussed her potential move into MMA following along with former teammate Ronda Rousey.
“Not sure as of right now. I never say never but I don’t know if the MMA world is ready for me! I’m a bit bigger than Ronda, and I’m not quite as flashy. I’m also not an entertainer. I do the sport because I love it, not for money or fame. So to make the transition into MMA would be a big one for me,” said Harrison.

"Well, I'm not sure I should go there now," said Jones. "Basically, I believe that if you're healthy enough to play a sport, you shouldn't take any performance enhancing drugs or anything or testosterone. Fighters make a lot of money in their 20s, they make a lot of money in their 30s, and then when you get in your 40s, unfortunately, you're in your 40s. When you're looking to stay in the game, I don't I think you should take a drug that gives you the strength of a 30-year-old again.
"That's like me saying, oh, I'm not as fast-twitch as I was when I was 20, let me take something to be 20 again. I think things like TRT, and steroids are things should be for the normal people who really need it and not athletes. I think if you're an athlete you're an athlete, you shouldn't use anything for enhancement."

I am writing this letter to inform you that as a result of my last loss, I was cut from the UFC. My next fight will be in Hammond, Indiana for Titan Fighting Championship on November the 2nd. I am excited to continue fighting, to regain my focus and to get back to what made me a champion. A special thank you to my manager, Glenn Robinson, my trainer, Firas Zahabi, my training partners, and all the staff at the UFC. I have dedicated my whole life to mixed martial arts and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. From teaching, to training, and fighting from the lowest to the highest levels, my passion in life is to be the best that I can be. Until November 2nd…

Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will officially move down to featherweight for his next fight in the Octagon.
According to a report from UFC Tonight on Tuesday, Edgar has decided to drop down to 145lbs and hopes to fight in December although no decision has been made as of yet who or when he will make his featherweight debut.

Roughly a day after word came out that the UFC has signed an Asian prospect in Hyun Gyu Lim, Brazilian website sportv have confirmed his opponent. According to the report, the PXC welterweight champion and Korean Top Team product will be fighting in Zuffa's first trip to Macau this November, and he will be making his UFC debut against Marcelo Guimaraes

Bellator Fighting Championships will return to Canada on Nov. 2 to stage Bellator 79 at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario.
Promotion officials announced the news Tuesday, also revealing that bantamweight champion Eduardo Dantas, Paul Daley and Ryan Ford will compete at the event. Opponents for the trio were not announced, but all three fighters are expected to appear on the main card, which will be broadcast on MTV2 and Epix.

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones fights to fuel his competitive fire and be the best athlete he possibly can be.
But he also wants to get paid, telling reporters on Tuesday, "I refuse to be a broke athlete when I retire."
On Tuesday, Jones went in depth about his motivations for the comment.
"I want to focus on Dan Henderson at this point, and not worry about Lyoto Machida, but when it comes to a pay-per-view conversation in general, I fight for honor and integrity and I fight to be the best. I try to keep martial arts experience in mind as much as possible."
"At same time, I'm a 2012 warrior and I fight to provide for my family. This is a sport where we don't have a retirement plan and we don't have insurance for the rest of our lives, so the money that I make today is the money that's around for when I'm 80 years old and if I ever get sick, or, I have to pay for several colleges already because I have a lot of kids."
The nike-endorsed Jones understands that a portion of MMA's hardcore fan base has a mentality that the sport should be entirely about the honor of fighting, and that making big money is akin to selling out. But he said the fans just simply need to understand that fighters need to consider their future, as well.
"Right now, I'm on this call with you reporters because you want to write the best story so you can make money. Well you know, I fight to make money, quite frankly. So, if I was to not be involved with my time, and be completely ignorant to my finances, and pay-per-view sales, and taxes, and investing, you know, it would be a shame. I refuse to be a broke athlete when I retire. So, I don't apologize for being aware of pay-per-view sales, and being business savvy."